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Declare meeting Null & Void


Guest Bruce D. Bastian

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Guest Bruce D. Bastian

Our board has agreed to find our last meeting null and void because of its Fascist nature. Freedom of speech was not allowed, mob rule was the order of the day and illegal voting occurred with the acquiescence if our Parliamentarian who has no concept of our by-laws or of law in general.If the Board decides based on various by-laws violations at that meeting that the meeting is Null & Void, do we the Board have the ultimate say in the matter or can the President or Parliamentarian somehow block carrying this through. What recourse do we have? Thank you.

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If you had a meeting, and it was properly called, even though behavior was bad, why would you declare it null and void? Fascism and mob rule seem, to me anyway, to suggest two different things. Was there heavy handed authoritarianism, or did the mob rule? My guess is there was a lot of confusion due to poor leadership. Perhaps Point(s) of Order should have been made at the time. Learn, get a new chair, and move on. Do better next meeting. JMHO.

Now if elections were somehow done incorrectly or illegally, they might be invalid. What are the specifics?

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You are correct that I should have issued a point of order. I did on one occasion but the President did not respond and in the heat of the moment the person issuing the illegal motion sat down and did not pursue it further. Then another motion was put forth that was in direct violation of our by-laws. The motion was to change the by-laws in order to change the date of our upcoming election. The president did not allow board members or myself to rebut anything. He said "shut up and sit down" when members posed questions that the Board or by-laws committee could respond.to. He asked the Parliamentarian if a motion could be put forth to make these changes and she answered yes "you can rescind it" implying anything could be reversed. I stated that you cannot rescind a by-law. I made this statement in spite of not truly having the floor because there was for a very long time a cancelling of the board's right to respond. Finally I was allowed to address the membership and I read the by-law that stated "Proposed amendments to these by-laws must be submitted to the Board in writing, by a member in good standing".In spite of this the body proceeded to make motions to change the by-laws on 2 occasions and actually changed the date of our election by passing one of them. What option does a board have when they are not allowed to speak, rebut and defend themselves. Should we have walked out? We were emasculated by a President that acted dictatorially and supported by a Parliamentarian incorrectly interpreting our by-laws. Point of order meant nothing;our president has no concept of our by-laws or parliamentary law. This entire meeting was a sham.

Also, as a last resort am I not correct in citing Art VIII # 47 of RONR to declare the passed illegal motion that is in contravention of our by-laws as being null and void? Thanks again for your insights.

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Sure, if there was an improper amendment to the bylaws that may well be null and void. That's what I meant in the previous reply distinguishing between declaring a meeting null and void, as opposed to a specific action within the meeting. I do not understand your reference (Art VIII #47) so I can't say.

The answers to your other questions likely involve Ch XX of RONR and any disciplinary procedures in your bylaws, and/or electing a new president, and getting a better parliamentarian, too.

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First of all, the citation you provide is from the 4th Edition, published in 1915. The 11th Edition was recently published, so you should plan to get updated asap. You might also look into picking up Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised IN BRIEF (2nd Edition, newly published) for a handy summarization of all things Robert's Rules.

You should also take a look at Chapter XX (in the Big Book), with a focus on Section 62 (on the removal of officers). For now, take a look at FAQ #20.

Bylaws can only be amended (which includes changing what's there as well as adding or removing sections) according to the procedures included in the bylaw section on Amendment.

Your larger problem at the moment seems to be a President who doesn't follow the rules. The trouble is that he will almost certainly not follow the rules (Point of Order, Appeal, etc) that allow you to address and correct this negligence. Time for a new one.

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Sure, if there was an improper amendment to the bylaws that may well be null and void. That's what I meant in the previous reply distinguishing between declaring a meeting null and void, as opposed to a specific action within the meeting. I do not understand your reference (Art VIII #47) so I can't say.

The answers to your other questions likely involve Ch XX of RONR and any disciplinary procedures in your bylaws, and/or electing a new president, and getting a better parliamentarian, too.

I like the distinction being made, here. There is nothing in the rules that gives the presiding officer or the assembly the power to rule that an entire meeting is null and void, though, of course, an individual action taken by the assembly may be.

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I have the strong impression, particularly from post #3, that this debacle took place at a membership meeting, not a board meeting. If so, that would certainly change what the board has a right to do about anything at this point (post #1 said the board wanted to find the last meeting null and void).

Original poster, can you please clarify what type of meeting this was?

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